4. Paul Konerko, 1B
Doling out multi-year, high-dollar contracts to first basemen is rarely wise. Most type-A free agents, as a result of baseball's service-time structure, are going to be at least toe deep in their decline phases by the time they hit the market. In the case of first basemen, who tend to be lumbering, un-athletic types, their native skills decline more rapidly than those of, say, a fleet-footed center fielder. That means the back ends of their contracts are often especially burdensome

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5086856

buehrle4cy05

11-16-2005, 07:43 PM

Beckett21 is going to kill me, but I think AJ Burnett should be on that list.

I kinda agree that you shouln't give big contracts to first basemen (see Jim Thome and Mo Vaughn), but Konerko will sign at an age younger than them, so if somebody signs him to a 4-year deal, they will be out of it before he's 35.

SoxSpeed22

11-16-2005, 09:38 PM

All of them!
http://espn.go.com/i/magazine/new/drew_rosenhaus.jpg"NEXT QUESTION!"

Optipessimism

11-16-2005, 09:43 PM

While I am sure Paulie is going to get more than he is worth and is thus overvalued, I would put Johnny Damon, Kevin Millwood, AJ Burnett, and possibly even Rafael Furcal (depending on how much he signs for) higher on that list than Paulie. Washburn and Morris though are probably going to be highly overpaid, and as strange as it sounds, when it is all said and done the best value may be a guy like Esteban Loaiza. :o: Ugh, this 05-06 FA market is terrible.

Chips

11-16-2005, 09:52 PM

While I am sure Paulie is going to get more than he is worth and is thus overvalued, I would put Johnny Damon, Kevin Millwood, AJ Burnett, and possibly even Rafael Furcal (depending on how much he signs for) higher on that list than Paulie. Washburn and Morris though are probably going to be highly overpaid, and as strange as it sounds, when it is all said and done the best value may be a guy like Esteban Loaiza. :o: Ugh, this 05-06 FA market is terrible.

This market is pretty weak. And PK will most definetly get more than he should, and if Johnny Damon's agent gets his way, Damon will be the most overvalued player I can recall. Millwood might get more than he deserved and I can see AJ Burnett getting more than he is worth. As for Loaiza, he is a 34 year old journeyman pitcher who might get around a million a year, which isn't all that bad if he can win 11 or so games.

DaleJRFan

11-17-2005, 04:54 AM

This market is pretty weak. And PK will most definetly get more than he should, and if Johnny Damon's agent gets his way, Damon will be the most overvalued player I can recall. Millwood might get more than he deserved and I can see AJ Burnett getting more than he is worth. As for Loaiza, he is a 34 year old journeyman pitcher who might get around a million a year, which isn't all that bad if he can win 11 or so games.

Esteban Loiaza demanded 3/21 from the Nationals.

:?: :o:

AZSoxFAN

11-17-2005, 11:18 AM

Konerko is on this writer's list.

4. Paul Konerko, 1B
Doling out multi-year, high-dollar contracts to first basemen is rarely wise. Most type-A free agents, as a result of baseball's service-time structure, are going to be at least toe deep in their decline phases by the time they hit the market. In the case of first basemen, who tend to be lumbering, un-athletic types, their native skills decline more rapidly than those of, say, a fleet-footed center fielder. That means the back ends of their contracts are often especially burdensome

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5086856

That's the bad news - The good news is that first basemen don't have to be as athletic and fleet footed as a center fielder. The paradigm is that center fielders are athletic, and hit for average, while first basemen are the heavier hitters with slower feet. So basically the writer for Foxsports was stating the obvious. As I remember, before the DH, the first baseman was usually the old guy on the team with the big bat....think Big Klu in 59, and Pudge, on occasion. (All this said with apologies to Mark Grace who never fit the mold)

socko82

11-17-2005, 04:52 PM

This is the same guy who wrote Pods was the most overrated player in MLB and also had Ichiro on the same list.

CPditka

11-17-2005, 06:29 PM

I agree with the author on basically everything, especially Paul. To bad for him we live in the real world with a capitalistic free market. There is a difference between what a player is worth and what you are willing to pay to have his services. The deciding factor depends on the situation, market, and others. Before the playoffs the Paulie Contract talk centered on the sox offereing and assesing his value at between 3 year 27-30 mil. It was quoted in the media this year he was seeking 4 years 36-40 mil. Now the assesment is hes a 4 year 48 mil guy (just like garett anderson's deal). Paulie wants a 5 or 6 year deal idealy at something between 60-75 mil. There is absoutly no way hes worth that, yeah he did great in the playoffs, but thats still 12 games.

With Paulie's career numbers and outlook he probably would command a deal of 4 years 36-40 mil based on a free agent rich market. Hes no Delgado, Vlad, or Thome. Paulie is going to be 30 before next year is done. However, the market will dictate what he will get, not what hes worth. His worth is based on career and recent statistics. In which case he doesn't much up well against the above mentioned names. Paulie In my opinion also benefits from a 330 ft left field line with a normal 8 foot wall. Of 40 homers per year 25 of them are probably at home, with a good portion of them being down the left field line. If he played in say Anaheim or Arizona he probably would be a 30ish homer guy. THat being said Id love to have him back on a 4 year deal with maybe an option. Before the this season I didn't even want a 4/48 deal for him, now It would probably be a steal.

Chisox003

11-17-2005, 07:20 PM

Anything written by this jackass should be immediatly sent to the ****house.

I'm sorry, but anything that he is the author of I just can't take seriously. He should get the Moron/Murph treatment, IMO.
:puking:Dayn

chaerulez

11-17-2005, 07:33 PM

Beckett21 is going to kill me, but I think AJ Burnett should be on that list.

I kinda agree that you shouln't give big contracts to first basemen (see Jim Thome and Mo Vaughn), but Konerko will sign at an age younger than them, so if somebody signs him to a 4-year deal, they will be out of it before he's 35.

Burnett is going to be the most overvalued without a question which proves how stupid this Dayn Perry guy is (although I'll admit Morris isn't a bad #1 choice either, but the fact that Burnett is nowhere in the top 5 makes no sense). His career ERA is 3.73 but he has benefited from being a pitcher friendly park and a good defensive infield. That isn't my biggest problem because he sure has proven he has the potential to be a good pitcher. The problem is his injury history. This is a guy that has already received 2 five year deals when he has only managed to stay healthy for a full season twice and he's 28. The fact that the rest of the pitchers in this FA class are not anything to brag about, Burnett will be overvalued more than anyone else in the league.

DumpJerry

11-17-2005, 07:34 PM

The problem with Washburn's work in 2005 is that his peripheral statistics don't come close to justifying that low ERA. In particular, Washburn is coming off a year in which he posted a career-worst strikeout-to-walk ratio of 1.84, and he also struck out only 4.8 batters per nine innings. That means Washburn allowed a lot of balls in play and leaned heavily on his defense to make outs for him. Such a lack of command also suggests that Washburn was exceedingly lucky last season. In baseball, luck — bad or good — tends not to hold up over time. Expect a serious regression for Washburn next season.
What a dufuss this guy is! You don't want a high strikeout guy as a Starter, they throw too many pitches to get those three strikes on each batter and wear down quickly (Balsa Wood). You want the guy who, in a complete game, will get 4-6 KO's and mostly induce groundballs with three pitches to a batter (Buerhle).

I can't believe this guy is paid to write such uninformed dribble.....